Note: Information below is subject to change
Jump to:
- Session 1– Thursday October 15th- 10:30am
- Session 2– Thursday October 15th- 1:30pm
- Session 3– Thursday October 15th- 2:30pm
- Session 4– Thursday October 15th- 3:45pm
- Session 5– Friday October 16th- 9:00am
- Session 6– Friday October 16th- 10:00am
- Session 7– Friday October 16th- 11:00am
Keynote
Dr. Bridget Whearty, Binghamton University
Prestation Title and Description coming soon!
Session 1- Thursday October 15th, 10:30am
Fake it, Ask for Help, or Let it Go: Surviving the Transition to Primo NDE by Centering User-Driven Discovery
Sebastian Black
Corning Museum of Glass
In this presentation, I’ll share how the Rakow Research Library at the Corning Museum of Glass approached our transition to Primo NDE. As Metadata Supervisor, I undertook the transition as someone with extensive Alma experience but by no means a CSS expert. I was also relatively new to the Rakow Research Library, which brought a new perspective to conversations about our catalog. Throughout the process I navigated each change, challenge, and discussion by asking: “how does this benefit our users?”
The Rakow Research Library was eager to move to NDE to fully embrace Specto and its AI-assisted entity identification, giving researchers more ways to discover digitized content. By joining ExLibris’ May cohort of the NDE UI Transition program and meeting weekly with Reference and Access Services, I used the transition not just to adopt a more modern interface, but as an opportunity to reconfigure settings that weren’t serving our patrons well.
In this presentation, I’ll walk through the custom HTML/CSS work I did without using ExLibris’ recommended Custom Color Module (available via GitHub), covering practical tips, how to adapt code from another library to fit your own needs, how to recognize when to ask for help (and where to find it), and how to know when a customization isn’t worth the effort. Additionally, I’ll also briefly cover the feedback Reference and Access Services received based on small-scale user testing they conducted before our go-live date.
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for approaching their own NDE transition, realistic expectations about what the transition takes, and hopefully, a little less worry about making the transition to NDE.
Better than Excel: Building a No-Code App for Tracking a Large Deselection Project
Lori Stethers
Wesleyan University
Managing a large deselection project generates data and workflows that outstrip what Alma and Excel can effectively handle. Alma isn’t built for the decision workflows and detailed process tracking of a deselection project, and Excel can’t handle multi-user access controls or scale to a project of this size and complexity. We built our own solution using the Softr platform, without writing a line of code and on a shoestring budget.
This session offers a practical case study for librarians facing projects requiring large-scale data management that might benefit from no-code/low-code tools. We’ll cover:
How and why we evaluated low-code and no-code platforms for our use case
How we built a working application and database with no code needed and minimal budget
How the application functions as a companion to Alma and Excel, rather than a replacement
How the tool has rapidly evolved as project parameters shifted
Lessons learned and what we’d do differently next time
Attendees will leave with a framework for evaluating no-code tools and ideas for applying similar approaches to their own collection management or data challenges.
Session 2- Thursday October 15th, 1:30pm
Discovery, Divided: One Alma, Three Primos, One Deadline
Jessica Brangiel and Andrea Baruzzi
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College sits inside a shared Alma environment with two consortial partner institutions, but each school maintains its own Primo view meaning each sets its own pace and roadmap for discovery layer changes. When Swarthmore rolled out Primo’s Next Discovery Experience (NDE) ahead of its partners, this structure created a distinctive challenge: how do you move quickly on your own timeline while still honoring the shared fields, labels, and functionality that must remain consistent across all three Primo views?
This session walks through the year-long working group process Swarthmore led to design, develop, and launch NDE, as a case study in cross-institutional collaboration under differing timelines. We’ll discuss how the group identified which elements were truly shared and required consensus across all three schools versus which were institution specific, and how we navigated needing timely input from partner-institution colleagues who weren’t working under the same deadline.
The NDE rollout didn’t happen in isolation. During the same period, Swarthmore was separating its LibGuides instance from a shared platform with the same two partners and designing a new Drupal based library website. Rather than treating these as three unrelated projects, the working group considered how Primo, LibGuides, and the website would function together as a single library ecosystem from the user’s perspective. Each platform had its own technical constraints, stakeholders, and owners spread across different departments, but we prioritized consistent information architecture, visual language, and user experience as patrons moved between systems. This session covers the practical work of aligning design decisions, terminology, and navigation logic across tools that were never built to talk to each other, and across teams that typically work independently.
We’ll also cover the process infrastructure that made this possible: structured feedback loops with library staff, larger all-staff presentations to solicit input from colleagues outside the working group, and how we balanced broad participation with the need to actually make decisions and hit a deadline.
Attendees will leave with:
– A practical model for managing shared-instance dependencies when institutional timelines diverge
– Strategies for aligning discovery, guides, and web platforms into one coherent user experience despite separate ownership
– Approaches for gathering meaningful staff feedback without stalling a project
– An honest account of what worked, what didn’t, and what we’d change if we did it again
This presentation is candid by design. Alongside our successes, we’ll share the friction points — the delicate conversations, the compromises, and the places where hindsight revealed a better path. Attendees considering their own NDE rollout, weighing interface or web design decisions, or thinking through how their own systems interact, or should interact with one another through the eyes of the end user, especially those in shared or consortial Alma/Primo environments, should come away with concrete and transferable lessons.
Implementing Serial Prediction Patterns
Lee Collings
Dartmouth College Libraries
This presentation focuses on the process of implementing serial prediction patterns in alma using the MFHD 853 field. Creating serial items in advance of their receipt date can automate key workflows, save time and aid in team communication when creating and receiving serials in the acquisitions workflow.
The Great Demerit Experiment
Rebecca Hyams
Borough of Manhattan Community College- CUNY
Many libraries have attempted to move away from charging users overdue fines for late returns. But when users abuse these more permissive policies, is there another way to deter them from chronically bringing our high-demand items late? Alma has a little-known functionality for generating automated blocks for users with late returns: Demerits. I will talk about how they work, the various pitfalls I’ve found in testing out the functionality, and our early attempts at a pilot.
Session 3- Thursday October 15th, 2:30pm
From Data to Discovery: Building Primo’s Person Info Cards Through a Community of Practice
Sasha Frizzell and Marcy Strong
Binghamton University and SUNY OLIS
Linked data has been a library buzzword for years, but for many catalogers the path from concept to implementation still feels out of reach. This session offers an introduction to Primo’s Person Info Cards, covering how data flows between Wikidata, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, and Primo to enrich discovery. We’ll then explore a pilot community of practice launched by the SUNY Office of Library and Information Services, designed to lower barriers for catalogers exploring linked data workflows. Attendees will leave with a framework and a replicable community of practice model to support linked data adoption at their own institutions.
Fixing Bound-Withs in Alma
Liz Bodian
Brandeis University
Books that are bound with other books have a specific workflow in Alma. If not done correctly, they will result in a confusing display in Primo. I’ll walk through how I fixed our bound withs so they all display correctly.
Using ALMA to Evaluate Legacy ILL Software Tools and Workflows
Conan Helein
Siena University
Resource sharing that is skewed toward net lending can hinder a library’s ability to demonstrate its value to the institution. Siena University, a net lender, addressed this by evaluating its legacy ILL tools using a framework grounded in cost-per-request efficiency and collection relevance.
Siena’s evaluation process required a complete overhaul of the Resource Sharing workflow previously established during its 2021 migration. This session covers the transition of this workflow from legacy ILL tools into Alma, including the integration of RapidILL and the implementation of Alma Resource Sharing. Attendees will learn to identify common workflow pitfalls, evaluate Resource Sharing ROI, and gain practical problem-solving solutions, all while leveraging our shared tools to answer specific questions about Resource Sharing services and Library Collection performance.
Session 4- Thursday October 15th, 3:45pm
This Time with Data! Assessing Primo Relevancy Rankings at Stony Brook Libraries
Matthrew Hartman and Robert Gerath
Stony Brook University
Five years ago, Stony Brook University Libraries customized our Primo relevancy-ranking configuration largely through manual review: conducting sample searches, inspecting the results, and making educated guesses about which boosting factors might improve them. After we recently began noticing more searches in which useful or expected resources appeared too low in the results, we decided to revisit those configurations—this time with data.
This presentation will describe our approach to developing a more systematic and reproducible assessment of Primo relevancy rankings. We will discuss how the Primo Search API can be used to collect and compare ranked results, examining the scores underlying their placement to measure the effects of configuration changes in ways that would be difficult to observe through the Primo interface alone. Our findings will construct the basis from which we may establish a repeatable framework for future assessment.
Beyond the Migration: Streamlining a Workflow for One-Off Streaming Media Requests at NYU Libraries
Chelsea L. Gizzi and Fernando Aguirre
New York University
In January 2024, New York University Libraries completed a multi-year migration from Aleph to Alma/PrimoVE, involving the transfer of millions of records and reshaping how the Libraries manage acquisitions, metadata, and discovery. But during, and even before the migration, one persistent challenge was the licensing and cataloging of streaming media.
NYU Libraries licenses streaming content through multiple channels, including package subscriptions and perpetual-rights videos hosted on an in-house platform, NYU Stream. Patrons at NYU’s Avery Fisher Center for Music and Media (AFC) often request titles not included in package subscriptions, prompting one-off acquisitions of individual streaming licenses, many of which require annual renewal if perpetual rights are not purchased. These one-off requests were labor intensive, involving hosting titles on NYU Stream and multiple metadata touchpoints that necessitated close cross-departmental collaboration. What’s more, the workflow often lacked transparency, making it difficult to track purchases, monitor renewal cycles, and ensure consistent discoverability.
With the benefit of the new Alma environment, though, staff from Knowledge Access and Resource Management (KARMS) were able to redesign and implement a more integrated workflow. The result both streamlines resource tracking and simplifies communication between acquisitions and metadata staff.
This session will walk attendees through:
The challenges that prompted the workflow redesign
How the team mapped and restructured the request-to-discovery pipeline
Decisions relating to metadata, renewal tracking, and interdepartmental collaboration
Lessons learned and takeaways other institutions can apply to their own streaming media workflows
Attendees will leave with practical strategies for managing complex, high-touch acquisitions workflows during and beyond major systems migrations.
Session 5- Friday October 16th, 9:00am
Bringing Archival and Special Collections into Alma
Megan E. Fox
SUNY Brockport
Many academic libraries manage archival and special collections in systems separate from their library services platforms, requiring users to search across multiple discovery environments. At SUNY Brockport, an ongoing project is exploring an alternative approach by describing archival and special collections directly in Alma rather than maintaining a separate finding aid platform. While the project is in its initial implementation phase, its primary goal is to provide a unified discovery experience that brings unique materials into the same search environment as the library’s broader collections.
This presentation will discuss the motivations behind the project, the early planning and metadata decisions that have shaped the implementation, and the practical challenges of representing archival collections within a system designed primarily for bibliographic resources. Topics will include balancing archival descriptive practices with Alma’s data model, determining appropriate levels of description, and identifying workflows that support both collection management and user discovery. Because implementation is ongoing, the presentation will emphasize questions, tradeoffs, and preliminary observations rather than final outcomes. Attendees will gain insight into one institution’s efforts to integrate archives and special collections into a shared discovery platform and will be invited to consider the opportunities and limitations of this approach within their own local contexts.
The Mysteries of the Central Discovery Index
Barrett Jones
CT State Norwalk
The Central Discovery Index (CDI) is an everchanging sea of electronic resources where even the most intrepid librarian can lose their way. Hear the tale of my voyage through these murky waters and what I discovered along the way.
Leveraging CrossLink, IRIS, and EMMA to Automate Accessibility Workflows
Mark Sullivan
IDS Network/SUNY Geneseo
Accessibility remediation has traditionally been manual, expensive, and duplicated across campuses. This presentation introduces the IDS Network’s integrated solution: a three-part ecosystem that builds accessibility directly into resource sharing. CrossLink, an ISO 18626 brokering network, connects any ILL system to any other (ILLiad, Alma/Rapido, ReShare, and beyond) through a single system-agnostic hub. IRIS, the network’s automated remediation service, converts delivered PDFs in transit, adding document structure, reading order, and alternative text with no extra steps for staff or patrons. EMMA, the shared repository of remediated materials, ensures each document is remediated only once and reused everywhere. Together they transform accessible delivery from a local exception into a structural guarantee, reducing turnaround from days to minutes, easing the burden on IT and disability services staff, and helping institutions meet ADA obligations network-wide.
Session 6- Friday October 16th, 10:00am
Enhancing Discovery of Digitized Archival Collections in Alma and Specto: User-Centered Metadata, AI-Driven Entity Identification, and Leveraging Specto for Improved Access
Lori Fuller and Carrie McClain
Corning Museum of Glass
Staff from the Rakow Research Library at The Corning Museum of Glass will share how they are enhancing access to digitized archival collections through enriched metadata, innovative discovery tools, and meaningful connections between archival management and public access systems. Recognizing that digitization alone does not ensure discoverability, the library has adopted a user-centered approach to metadata creation that prioritizes how researchers search for, interpret, and engage with digitized archival materials. This approach also supports the visual presentation of selected collection materials, making archival content more accessible and inviting to a broader audience.
The presentation will examine how descriptive metadata created and managed in Alma enables more granular access to digitized content, helping researchers discover relevant materials through a variety of access points. Presenters will demonstrate how they have leveraged Specto’s capabilities to enhance discovery through AI-assisted entity identification, allowing them to efficiently identify and expose people, organizations, places, and topics that might otherwise remain hidden within archival collections. Attendees will learn how these enriched entities create new pathways for exploration and research while complementing traditional archival description and professional metadata practices.
A central element of the library’s strategy is preserving the relationship between individual digital objects and their broader archival context. The presenters will show how links back to ArchivesSpace allow users to move seamlessly from digitized content to the full collection record, maintaining provenance and contextual understanding while encouraging deeper engagement with materials within the collection.
Through practical examples, workflow demonstrations, and lessons learned, this session will highlight how the combined use of Alma, Specto, ArchivesSpace, and AI-driven metadata enhancement is helping the Rakow Research Library create a more discoverable, accessible, and user-focused archival research experience.
Getting Started with E-Resource Autoholdings
Kelly Shea
Westchester University Libraries
Interested in using e-resource autoholdings integrations in Alma, but not sure where to start? This presentation will outline the advantages and disadvantages of autoholdings for e-resource management, best practices for subscribed content vs. perpetual purchases, how to configure autoholdings in Alma, moving and managing existing acquisitions and/or licensing information, and ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting.
Learning from Others to Update Our Alma Usage Dashboard
Anne Larrivee
West Chester University Libraries
Session 7- Friday October 16th, 11:00am
SUNY’s Canary in the Resource Sharing Coal Mine: Rapido at the University at Buffalo
Paul Whiting and Lisa McLaughlin (University at Buffalo)
Timothy Jackson (SUNY Library Services)
The SUNY system has spent the past five years using Alma’s peer-to-peer resource sharing functionality to create a nationwide resource sharing network. This work has yielded helpful results for SUNY libraries, but most still must rely on expensive third-party systems to fully meet their resource sharing needs. The introduction of Rapido in 2021 created new opportunities for Alma-based resource sharing, but SUNY libraries were hesitant to adopt this new system. In late 2025, the University at Buffalo became the first SUNY library to fully implement Rapido, allowing them to serve as a test case for the rest of the SUNY system. This presentation will discuss SUNY’s resource sharing network building efforts, the benefits and limitations of that work, the University at Buffalo’s experiences with Rapido, and the lessons the SUNY system has learned from those experiences.
Building Practical Alma Analytics for E-Resources: From SUSHI Harvests to COUNTER Reports
Marcie Boutwell
Miami University (Ohio)
As a new Alma user and e-resources librarian, I quickly discovered that creating meaningful Analytics reports can feel overwhelming. This session shares my journey from learning the basics of Alma Analytics to developing practical reports that support electronic resource management. Attendees will see how I used automated SUSHI harvesting, COUNTER usage data, and Alma Analytics to create reports that are useful for collection assessment and decision-making.